Terminal assembly apparatus



p 1967 H. E. DURR ETAL 3,341,926

TERMINAL ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 1 p 197H. E. DURR ETAL 3,341,926

TERMINAL ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1964 74 ['L "IIIHI' *r' g H 9Sheets-Sheet 2 H I 23 "I Mill/(111N01 p 1967 H. E. DURR ETAL 3,341,926

TERMINAL ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 1 MM Ip 1967 H. E. DURR ETAL 3,341,926

TERMINAL ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 4 Se t.19, 1967 H. E. DURR ETAL 3,341,926

TERMINAL ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 p 19,1967 H. E. DURR ETAL 3,341,926

TERMINAL ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 Sept.19, 1967 DURR E 3,341,926

TERMINAL ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 p 1967H. E. DURR ETAL 3,341,926

TERMINAL ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 8 5 lg-ZE p 1967 H. E. DURR ETAL 3,341,926

TERMINAL ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Filed Sept. 2, 1964 9 Sheets-Sheet 9 UnitedStates Patent 3,341,926 TERMINAL ASSEMBLY APPARATUS Helmut E. Burr,Summit, Frank Wahl, North Bergen,

and Roger R. Wahlberg, Bloomfield, N.J., assignors to Western ElectricCompany Incorporated, New York,

N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 393,910 6Claims. (Cl. 29203) ABSTRACT OF TIE DISCLOSURE An apparatus for formingJ-shaped terminals and inserting them into apertures arranged in rows atopposite positions in an insulating member comprises an intermittentfeeding means for feeding a plurality of wires, means for cutting thewires into predetermined lengths, and means for forming the cut wiresinto two groups of J-shaped terminals. Each group of formed terminals isfed a different distance such that the legs of the terminals are inalignment with rows of apertures in an-insulating member and the legsare then inserted into the apertures.

This invention relates to assembly apparatus and particularly toapparatus for automatically forming a plurality of terminals andinserting the formed terminals in electrical insulating members such asthe terminal leads of repeating coils.

In the large-scale manufacture of electrical devices such as repeatercoils, it is a time consuming and costly proposition to assemble aplurality of unconventionally shaped terminals within terminal heads.The terminal head is a plastic molded part which is attached to one endof the core of a bobbin on which a repeating coil is wound. In themanufacture of repeater coils, it is required that each leg of aplurality of substantially J-shaped terminals be inserted withinapertures of the terminal heads. In this instance, each terminal legmust be located with reference to an aperture and the terminal forciblyassembled to the part. Alignment and assembly operations presentdifliculties which hinder the application of automatic assembly methods.It is to be noted that the normal manufacturing sequence presupposes theuse of preshaped terminals which require a separate forming operationconstituting an additional cost factor.

The advantages of automatically assembling a plurality of terminals in apart have been recognized by the prior art and a number of insertionmachines have been developed for particular applications. However, thesemachines generally require that the terminals be formed and then fed atsome stage of the process or individually inserted into the terminalapertures. No commercial machine is known to be available forautomatically forming a plurality of terminals of a non-standardconfiguration, such as a J-shape, and assembling them simultaneouslywithin a plurality of apertures. Consequently, terminal assemblyoperations still represent a disproportionately high percentage of theunit cost in the'manufacture of many electrical devices.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to automatically form aplurality of terminals and assemble them in an electrical device.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method ofintermittently feeding one or more wires, cutting the wires to size,notching and forming the wires and inserting the wires within aperturesin an apertured insulating member.

A further object of this invention is a unique control arrangement forsynchronizing a plurality of dilferent operations in the forming ofterminals and their insertion in insulating members.

In its broader aspects, the invention comprises an apparatus forautomatically feeding, forming and inserting a plurality of wireterminals within apertures in an insulating member such as a terminalhead of a bobbin. The apparatus includes a reel supply arrangement, astock straightener to simultaneously straighten a plurality of squareterminal wires payed off the supply reels, a stock feeder tointermittently advance-the wires and a press having cut-ofi and formingdie sections for supplying preshaped terminals to a work station where aplurality of formed terminals are simultaneously assembled to a clampedterminal head.

In general, the terminal assembly apparatus embodied herein provides ameans for automatically feeding, form ing and inserting one or moresubstantially J-shaped square wire terminals into correspondingapertures of a terminal head such as a repeater coil head of moldedplastic material. The apparatus includes a punch press having asliding-type forming and cut-oft" die for cutting the terminal wires tothe proper length, and notching and forming the terminals into theaforementioned configuration. The sliding die section is advanced to awork station where the formed terminals are inserted into apertures in aterminal head. The wires are fed initially from a plurality of supplyreels through a two-direction wire straightener by a feeder unit whichadvances a predetermined length of wire to the first work station wherethe wires are notched, cut to size, and formed in a controlled sequenceand then transported to a work station for insertion into a moldedterminal head.

To initiate the assembly operation, a series of terminal heads are fedalong a track to a work station, tripping a pair of switches andenergizing a control circuit. The terminal head is moved downward andclamped in position while one or more previously formed terminals whichare positioned within a plurality of die nests are driven upwardly intodesignated apertures in the terminal head. The completed terminal headassembly is then ejected from the apparatus. The die returns to aloading position and the feeder unit is energized to advance asucceeding group of straightened wires into the die nests where theWires are cut to size and formed into a J- shaped configuration. Theslidable die is moved along the die bed of the press to an insertionwork station where a terminal head having a plurality of apertures ispositioned thereover. The above steps are then repeated for succeedingparts.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will beapparent from the following detailed description when considered inconjunction with the following drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is an isometric drawing of the cutting, forming and insertingportion of the apparatus with the movement of a repeater coil head beingillustrated in phantom;

FIG. 2 is a sectional View taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1 to show aportion of the cutting and forming die;

FIG. 3 is a section taken along the lines 33 of FIG. 1 to illustrateanother portion of the cutting and forming die;

FIG. 4 is a top view showing a portion of the reel arrangement plus apart of the wire straightener;

FIG. 5 is a top view showing another part of the wire straightener, afeed stop for the wire and a portion of the feeder unit;

FIG. 6 is a top view of the feeder unit and a cutting, forming andsliding die and inserting work station;

FIG. 7 shows the respective relationship of FIGS. 4, 5 and 6;

FIG. 8 is a side view of the reel supply and two-way wire straightener;

FIG. 9 is a side view partially in cross section of the wire frictionarrangement, feeder unit, notching punch and the insertion work station;

FIG. 10 illustrates the respective arrangement of FIGS. 8 and 9;

FIG. 11 is a cutaway side view of the insertion work station;

FIG. 12 shows the electrical control system for the apparatus;

FIG. 13 shows the pneumatic control system for the apparatus; and

FIG. 14 shows a typical molded part having terminals assembled thereto.

With reference to FIGS. 4 to 10 of the drawings, the invention comprisesan apparatus for automatically forming and inserting a plurality ofI-shaped terminals 11 into apertures in parts'such as a terminal head 10of molded plastic material. A typical terminal head 10 is shown in FIG.1 and includes a base 13 and a pair of parallel vertically extendingportions 14 uniformly spaced from opposite edges of the base 13. Thevertically extending portions 14 include -a plurality of apertures 12 toreceive the longer leg 16 of the J-shaped terminals 11 while the baseportion 13 includes a plurality of apertures 17 to receive the shorterleg 18 of the terminals.

The apparatus includes a supply arrangement 20,.FIGS. 4 and 8, a wirestraightening arrangement 25, FIGS. 4, 5 and 8, a feed unit 30, FIGS. 6and 9 and a punch and die arrangement 40, FIGS. 6 and 9 for notching andcutting terminals to length, forming the terminals and inserting themwithin the apertures in the terminal head. The apparatus provides for acontinuous flow arrange ment wherein the separate portions thereof arelaid out as depicted in FIGS. 7 and 10, the former representing a topview and the latter a side view of the apparatus.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 8, a plurality of square terminal wires 19 arepayed off a plurality of reels 21 rotatably mounted to the verticalsupport 22 within a suitable supply arrangement 20. In the illustratedembodiment twelve wires 19 are being unwound from reels 21, two of whichare shown. The invention could, of course, be readily adapted for usewith any convenient number of wires 19 depending upon the number ofterminals required. The wires 19 which are approximately .045 inchsquare are advanced through a straightening apparatus 25 comprising afirst group of vertically mounted rollers 23 and a second group ofhorizontally mounted rollers 24. The wires 19 as shown in the drawingsare divided into two groups of six. Each group is fed in vertical arraythrough roller guides 26 to a series of vertically disposedstraightening rollers 23 which are alternately positioned on oppositesides of the taut terminal wires 19 to exert a straightening pressurethereon. The wires 19 fan out in a horizontal plane as they emerge froma second pair of roller guides 27 after the straightening operation andare advanced into a plurality of guide slots 141 having tapered entranceportions 142. A plurality of horizontal rollers 24 straighten the wires19 in a direction transverse to the first straightening plane.

Upon emerging from the straightener 25, the wires 19 pass through afriction device 28, FIGS. 5 and 9, which includes a plurality ofadjustable plunger elements 29 loaded by springs 31. The plungers 29 aremounted within an overhead support member 32 and project therefrom apredetermined distance to contact the wires 19. The member 32 is securedto vertical portions 33 of the frame 34 at each end 36. The frictiondevice 28 is designed to maintain pressure on the wires 19 to preventany back movement thereof during the rest intervals of the feeding unitwhich provides an intermittent feed movement to the wires 19. Duringthese intervals, the wires 19 are not held by the feed unit 30 and maytend to retract towards the reels 21.

The unit 30, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 9, comprises a carriage 37mounted on slide bars 38 and movable therealong upon actuation ofcylinders 39 and a plurality of wire-gripping clamps 41 pivotallymounted to a shaft 4-2 within a recess 43 in the carriage 37. The clamps41 include a forward gripping surface 44 which is actuable when air issupplied through inlet 47 to the one-way cylinders 48 actuating plungers46. Each clamp 41 grips a predetermined length of wire 19 at a firstposition, feeds the wire 19 forward as the carriage 37 reciprocatesalong the slide bars 39 between stops 49 and 51 and releases the wire ata second position. Individual clamps are required to take care of slightvariations in wire thickness.

An extending rear portion 52 of each clamp 41 engages the upper surface53 of a ledge 54 on a pivotally mounted member 56 when the carriage 37reaches the end of its forward travel. A threaded member 57 mounted to abracket 58 on the ram 59 contacts a rear portion 61 of member 56 on thedownstroke of the press pivoting member 56 about shaft 62. The ledge 54is moved upwardly against the plunger 46 releasing the wires 19 whilethe carriage 37 returns to its initial starting position. A threadadjustment means 63 is provided to limit the movement of each clamp 41to accommodate different size wires 19. To summarize, the clamp 41engages the wires 19 in an initial position with the carriage 37 againststop 49 and carries the wires 19 until it reaches stop 51. The wires 19are then released and held by friction device 28 during the work cycleof the press 58 and while the carriage returns to its initial position.

The punch and die arrangement 40 includes a base portion 64 having a diemounted thereon with a plurality of guide slots 66 with tapered entryportions 67 to receive the individual wires 19 from the feeder unit 30and an overhead member 68 mounted to the base 64 to maintain the wires19 within the slots 66. The die includes a pair of notching die sections69 and 71, one for each group of six wires. The notching die sections 69and 71 are spaced diagonally apart and each comprise an anvil portion 72and a notching member 73 for forming a pair of notches 77 and 78 on theupper and lower surfaces of the wire in cooperation with the punchelements 74 and 75, respectively. The anvil and notching portions 72 and73 are reversed on the die sections 69 and 71 since the particular wiregroupings are designed for insertion on opposite sides of the terminalhead 10. The cooperating punch elements 74- and 76 for forming theterminal se curing notches 77 and 78 on the separate wire groups areshown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in an operative position.

The notched Wires 19 are fed forward on the next work cycle until theend portions rest in the alignment arrangement 154 which includes acomb-shaped entry portion 156 and a series of guide springs 157. Uponactuation of the press 50', the wires 19' are cut to terminal length bya pair of blades 79a and 79b mounted to the ram 59 by means 81a and 81b.The blades 79a and 79b each cut a group of six wires 19 as they descendinto recesses 82a and 82b in the die on the downstroke of the press 50.Forming portions 83a and 83b on the punch lag slightly behind the blades79a and 79b on the downstroke of the ram 59 to form the severed wires 19into a J-shape with the legs extending upwardly substantially parallelto each other within forming die sections 84a and 84b. The die sections84a and 84b include recesses 86 which retain the formed terminals 11 inan upright position for terminal insertion. The die section 84b ismounted on a reciprocable rod 87 and includes a transversely mounted pin88 which projects into a recessed portion 89 of sec tion and impartsreciprocable movement thereto when it engages the end surfaces 91 or 92during the to and from movement of section 8417. v

In operation, the two groups of wires 19 are formed in a substantiallyI-shaped configuration within the slots 86, see FIGS. 2 and 3, andsection 8411 is driven forward to a terminal insertion position 90. Thepin 88 engages the surface 91 on section 84a, as shown in FIG. 1, whensection 8411 is positioned alongside and both sections 84a and 84b aremoved into the position 90.

The parts ie the molded terminal heads are individually fed along arecess 93 on the feed platform 94 with the vertical portions 14straddling the overhead member 96 until the leading edges of a moldedhead 10 trip both switches 101 and 102. The switches 101 and 102 aremounted to the member 96 which in turn is connected to the guide bars 97by bolts 98. The head 10 is driven downwardly over the terminals 11within the feed aperture 99 by member 96 while spring elements restrainthe lateral movement of the head 10. The insertion punch 111 is actuatedby pivotally mounted air cylinder 112 which pivots member 113 againstthe spring-loaded lower portion 114 forcing a plurality of prepositionedterminals 11 into a secure position with apertures 12 and 17 in themolded part 10. The assembled head 10 is ejected down the chute 114 bygravity by means (not shown) located on the base of the die.

With reference to FIGS. 12 and 13 of the drawings, the relay 120 isoperated when the series connected switches 101, 102, 103, 104 and 106are closed. The terminal head 10 is fed along the feed track recess 93with the vertical portions 14 straddling the clamping member 96 as shownin FIG. 1 until the leading edges 15 of the vertical portions 14 tripswitches 101 and 102. The switches 101 and 102 are connected in seriesso that the circuit is completed only by properly positioned parts 10which operate both switches simultaneously. Switch 103, see FIG. 6, isclosed by the shoulder portion 143 on the piston rod 87 of cylinder 144when the slide die 84b is in a forward position. Switch 104 is closed bythe contact member 146 mounted on bracket 147 when the feed unitcarriage 37 returns to its initial position while the remaining seriesconnected switch 106 is operated by the press shaft 148 to shut off thepress cycle on the upstroke of the ram 59.

Relay 120 when energized closes contacts 121, 122 and 123 operating thecontrol circuit solenoid valve 125 and solenoid valve 126. Solenoidvalve 125, when energized, moves the clamping member 96 and the terminalhead 10 which is engaged thereby downwardly over the plurality of formedterminals 11 by means of cylinder 145, see FIG. 13. Solenoid valve 126,when energized, operates the individual clamping devices 41 for holdingthe plurality of square wires 19 in a fixed position. At the end of thedownward movement of the clamping member 96, limit switch 107 is trippedby a contacting member 149 which is affixed to the guide bar mounting151. Current is supplied through the closed switch 107 to energize relay127 which closes contacts 128 operating solenoid valves 129 and 130.Solenoid valve 129 supplies air to cylinders 39 which include pistonrods 35 connected to brackets 99 at one end for reciprocating the wirefeeder unit 37 along slide bars 38 between stops 49 and 51. The carriage37 is advanced against stop 51 upon actuation of cylinders 39 andremains in this position until the controlling valve 129 isde-energized.

Solenoid valve 130 supplies air to cylinder 112 moving the plurality offormed terminals 11 upward into the molded terminal head 10 which ispositioned thereover by the clamping member 96. When the terminals 11have been assembled to the head 10, limit switch 108 is tripped bymember 152 energizing relay 131. Relay 131 closes associated relaycontacts 132 to energize solenoid valve 133. The valve 133 actuatescylinder 144 to move sliding dies 84a and 84b from an inserting positionto a forming position. The rear portion 153 of die 84a trips limitswitch 109 energizing relay 136 which closes associated contacts 137.This energizes solenoid valve 138 releasing the punch press clutch (notshown) to permit the downward movement of the ram 59 for a forming andcutting operation.

On the upward stroke of the ram 59, limit switch 106 is trippedde-energizing solenoid valves 125, 126, 129, 130 and 133 which controlthe feeding, forming and inserting circuit. When de-energized, solenoidvalve 125 allows the air cylinder 145 to open returning the clampingdevice 96 to its original position. Solenoid valve 126 releases the wireclamps 41 and solenoid valve 129 allows the air cylinders 39 to openmoving the wire feeder unit 30 to its initial feed position. Limitswitch 104 is tripped by member 146 on the carriage 37 closing thecircuit. Limit switch 104 also functions as a check feature to obtain afull length of wire 19 required for forming a terminal 11. Solenoidvalve 130 de-energized, allows cylinder 112 to open returning theterminal insertion members 114 and downward to their original position.The assembled terminal head 10 is ejected down the chute 114 on thereturn movement of the dies 84a and 84b. Solenoid valve 133,de-energized, causes cylinder 114 to move the slide die from a formingposition to an inserting position. At the end of this movement, limitswitch 103 is tripped permitting the complete cycle to be repeated. As asafety precaution, the cycle cannot be started until the sliding die hasmoved to the forward position tripping limit switch 103.

While the operation of the apparatus has been shown with twelve wireterminals 11 and a particular repeater coil head 10, it is to beunderstood that the above-described arrangements are merely illustrativeexamples of the principles of the invention and any number of terminalscould be inserted into differently designed parts without departing fromthe spirit or scope of the invention. It is also to be understood thatthe invention may be modified to form diverse terminal configurationsand assemble these terminals to mating terminal blocks.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for forming terminals with parallel legs and insertingthe legs into apertures arranged in rows at opposite sides of aninsulating member such as a terminal head comprising:

a plurality of wire supply reels,

means for intermittently feeding wires from the supply reels,

means for severing a predetermined length from the wires fed by theintermittent feeding means,

a pair of movable die means, each die means receiving a group of thepredetermined lengths of wire and including a row of forming recesses,

means cooperating with the die means for forming the severed lengths ofwires in the recesses such that terminals are provided having parallellegs protruding above the recesses,

means for receiving a terminal head,

means for transferring each die means a different distance to positionsat opposite sides of the terminal head such that the legs of theterminals are in alignment with rows of apertures in the terminal head,and

means for causing relative movement of the terminal head receiving meansand both die means to insert the terminal legs into the apertures atopposite sides of the terminal head.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the means forintermittently feeding the wires comprises:

a supporting frame having a pair of bars extending parallel to thedirection of wire movement,

a carriage slidably mounted on said bars, the carriage including:

a plurality of pivotally mounted clamps having a forward wire grippingsurface and an elongated rear portion, and

means engaging the elongated rear portion to pivot the gripping surfaceinto contact with the wires when the carriage is at its initialposition,

means for driving the slidable carriage along the bars to a secondposition, and

means for releasing the gripping surface from the advanced wire at thesecond osition, the driving means thereupon returning the carriage toits initial position to feed another predetermined length of wire.

3. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

the movable die means comprises first and second slidable die sectionspositioned diagonally opposite one another, each receiving a group ofwires of a predetermined length advanced by the feeding means,

the forming means is mounted above the die sections and cooperatestherewith to form the terminal legs upward in a substantially J-shapedconfiguration, and

act-uable mean are provided to drive the forming means into cooperationwith the die sections.

4. An apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein:

the receiving means comprises a feed platform having an aperture toreceive a terminal head,

the means for causing relative movement comprises means mounted abovethe feed platform for driving the head into the aperture and positioningthe terminals Within apertures in the terminal head, and

means are mounted beneath the head for driving the terminals into asecure fit within the terminal apertures.

5. An apparatus according to claim 1 comprising:

straightening means for straightening the wires before they reach thefeeding means, and

means for forming notches in the Wires before they reach the severingmeans,

the die means and forming means being adopted to form the terminals intoa J -shaped configuration. 6. An apparatus according to claim 1 whereineach die means is at a different osition in the direction of Wire 5 feedsuch that the forming apertures of each die means is in the same planeas rows of apertures in a terminal head in the receiving means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Gilbert 29206 McCoy 140-1 Hanson14071 Davis 140-71 Grinnell 14071 Smith et a1. 14071 Weiss.

luptner 29-155.5 X Van Rijsewijk 29203 Sloan 29-1555 X JOHN F. CAMPBELL,Primary Examiner.

THOMAS H. EAGER, Examiner.

1. AN APPARATUS FOR FORMING TERMINALS WITH PARALLEL LEGS AND INSERTINGTHE LEGS INTO APERTURES ARRANGED IN ROWS AT OPPOSITE SIDES OF ANINSULATING MEMBER SUCH AS A TERMINAL HEAD COMPRISING: A PLURALITY OFWIRE SUPPLY REELS, MEANS FOR INTERMITTENTLY FEEDING WIRES FROM THESUPPLY REELS, MEANS FOR SEVERING A PREDETERMINED LENGTH FROM THE WIRESFED BY THE INTERMITTENT FEEDING MEANS, A PAIR OF MOVABLE DIE MEANS, EACHDIE MEANS RECEIVING A GROUP OF THE PREDETERMINED LENGTHS OF WIRE ANDINCLUDING A ROW OF FORMING RCESSES, MEANS COOPERATING WITH THE DIE MEANSFOR FORMING THE SEVERED LENGTHS OF WIRES IN THE RECESS SUCH THATTERMINALS ARE PROVIDED HAVING PARALLEL LEGS PROTRUDING ABOVE THERECESSES, MEANS FOR RECEIVING A TERMINAL HEAD, MEANS FOR TRANSFERRINGEACH DIE MEANS A DIFFERENT DISTANCE OF POSITIONS AT OPPOSITE SIDES OFTHE TERMINAL HEAD SUCH THAT THE LEGS OF THE TERMINALS ARE IN ALIGNMENTWITH ROWS OF APERTURES IN THE TERMINAL HEAD, AND MEANS FOR CAUSINGRELATIVE MOVEMENT OF THE TERMINAL HEAD RECEIVING MEANS AND BOTH DIEMEANS TO INSERT AND TERMINAL LEGS INTO THE APERTURES AT OPPOSITE SIDESOF THE TERMINAL HEAD.